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After AstraZeneca’s vaccination recommendations changed, Australia’s troubled vaccine launch suffered another blow, and people questioned its possible future impact.
So far, more than 6.3 million doses of vaccine have been vaccinated across the country, but health experts continue to emphasize that the promotion is progressing fast enough.
right now, It is recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine is only given to people 60 years of age and older After another person died from a blood clot in the brain, there were concerns that the rollout might stall further.
Now people aged 50-59 are told to get the Pfizer vaccine, and Australia has a much smaller dose of the vaccine.
In the original plan, the federal government’s goal was to vaccinate most adults by October 2021.
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However, a combination of supply issues, conflicts between the federal and state governments over dosage allocation, and changing recommendations surrounding AstraZeneca have repeatedly delayed Australia’s vaccine schedule.
Dr. Chris Moy, vice chairman of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), said it will take some time to “re-adjust” the roll-out plan to accommodate this new medical advice.
“We are opening up a new group for Pfizer, between the ages of 50 and 59, and we must give priority to senior Australians because age is the biggest risk factor for death or serious illness from the new coronavirus,” he told the media ABC.
“This change needs to be re-adjusted, causing some confusion, and the demand for a vaccine increases, so everything will take some time to settle down again.”
Dr. Moy said the focus needs to be on ensuring that those who can still get the AstraZeneca vaccine are safe.
People under the age of 60 who had received the first dose of AstraZeneca were urged to re-vaccinate the second dose and found that the risk of rare blood clotting after the second dose was significantly reduced.
Despite this guarantee, clinics across the country have seen a significant increase in the number of cancellations for the second AstraZeneca drug booking.
Todd Cameron, a general practitioner who runs multiple medical institutions in Melbourne, told the media Sydney Morning Herald After the news from AstraZeneca came out, he received hundreds of cancelled orders.
He expressed concern that the latest proposal will have a major impact on the launch.
“This will greatly hinder the introduction of vaccines,” said Dr. Cameron.
“The public’s confidence in vaccines was once again completely destroyed.”
A study released by the McKay Institute found that the cost of the vaccine delay could exceed $1.4 billion.
Officials expect vaccination rates to fall
Government officials confirmed that as people make “wise decisions” and change their appointments, they expect daily vaccination rates to drop, but have tried Downplay the possible long-term impact of AstraZeneca news.
Lieutenant General Freewin, the commander of the Covid-19 Task Force, told reporters on Friday: “As people make informed decisions about what they want to do, we will see that daily vaccination rates may temporarily decline.”
“Then they change the booking, and then they can visit Pfizer’s supply point. But this potential reduction should be short-term, and then we will see a more regular daily vaccination rate recovery.”
He still believes that by the end of this year, all Australians will receive a dose of the vaccine, and said that Pfizer has “sufficient stocks” to meet the expanding demand.
related: 12 new cases of thrombosis after vaccination
“We need some patience from the Australian public, especially among the 50 to 59-year-olds. In the next few weeks, as our bookings are in place, we will get additional supply points from Pfizer,” he said. .
The government’s goal is to rapidly expand the use of Pfizer’s vaccine in the next two weeks. It is estimated that there will be approximately 1.7 million doses of vaccine this month, and 2.8 million doses will arrive in July.
Officials also plan to receive 40 million doses of vaccine before the end of the year, while delivering Moderna vaccine.
Call for a complete reform of Australia’s vaccine approach
Professor Terry Nolan, head of the Doherty Institute’s Vaccine and Immunization Research Group, suggested that Australia should consider completely changing its promotion methods.
Talk to 3AWProfessor Nolan warned that the risk of the virus spreading in the winter is much higher, and adopting methods similar to those in the UK may help reduce the risk of an outbreak.
He recommends shifting the focus to getting as many first doses as possible, and only two doses to those in high-risk environments.
“The British did this (they) in order to vaccinate as many people as possible with the first dose,” he said.
“Subsequent evidence proves that they are correct. It is better to protect a smaller proportion than ideally than to protect a larger proportion of the population that is not ideal but still good.
“This is not our current policy. Due to the limited supply of mRNA vaccines, I recommend that ATAGI study this more carefully.”
Professor Nolan said that the “serious reality” facing Australia is that there are not enough vaccines to speed up the promotion.
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